Indie-rock singer Wallice Hana Watanabe, better known by her stage name Wallice, is barreling her way to stardom at a rapid pace. After her single “Punching Bag” was put on the popular Spotify Lorem playlist, Wallice gained a following large enough to truly kickstart the traction she was receiving, and she has taken off steadily from there.
Starting to act and audition at the age of four, Wallice is no stranger to show business. Although her acting career never took off beyond a couple of commercials, her true heart and talent lies in music. The singer went to school in New York for jazz performance and voice for a year before deciding to leave to pursue her talents back home in California with her friend and music producer, Marinelli.
“I credit the pandemic to be able to find an audience, because I think a lot of the people had time to listen to music and find new artists,” Wallice said in a New York Times interview.
Wallice finally had the opportunity to perform live as she briefly toured with Chloe Moriondo for five of her shows. The singer had a stage presence unlike any other, easily the most enjoyable part of the night during Moriondo’s Los Angeles show at the Roxy Theatre on Oct. 15. Her voice was stunning, singing every note with perfection and ease. Additionally, Wallice’s ability to command the stage and mesmerize her audience was admirable and exquisite to watch.
Signed by Dirty Hit Records a year after the success of her first hit, Wallice’s latest release is a song entitled “Wisdom Tooth” that was initially based on her own “traumatic tooth extraction.” However, she ended up changing the lyrics slightly to be more relatable to her audience, she told The Forty-Five.
Recognizable by her iconic cowboy hats and boots, Wallice has a unique sense of self and style, while also being clearly grounded in normal, young adult life. Her songs are simple yet painfully relatable, every song reflecting a common experience in adolescent life such as broken friendships, confusing romantic relationships, wanting to move out and childhood nostalgia.
Even with her recent massive successes, fame is not getting to her head as she is staying true to passions she kept from when she was younger. Wallice is a ceramist, growing up in Topanga, Calif., which she describes as a “hippie mountain” — her mom kept a kiln in their garage and she started pottery at a young age. The pandemic re-introduced her to this talent, and she has her own website where she sells her art pieces, including mugs, plates, match holders, dishes, planters and ashtrays.
Wallice has recently voiced her interest in delving into the indie-rock scene and departing from her indie-pop beginnings.
“For so long, I grew up listening to Radiohead and Weezer and Dr. Dog. Those are all more alternative rock, and I wanted to make songs that sounded like that,” she said in a Nylon interview.
A chance to debut her new and changing sound, Wallice had her first headliner show at the Moroccan Lounge on Dec. 7, which was a smashing success. The venue was intimate, and the energy in the room was supportive and exciting. Musician CARR opened for her, which was very fitting as their styles mesh together nicely.
Clad in turquoise cowboy boots, a matching dress and a cowboy hat, Wallice was adorable as ever. She entered the stage with a bit of nerves; however, as the concert progressed, she really settled in and got comfortable with the audience. The close relationship she shares with her band members was evident; their trust in one another helped to carry the show and evade the minor technical difficulties that arose swiftly.
Her fans were clearly adoring, constantly yelling their love for her at the stage. One fan even passed her a canvas they had painted of her in a desert landscape. Dedicated listeners filled the small venue with Wallice’s lyrics as she sang each song, only quieting down for a solo acoustic guitar performance of Radiohead’s “Exit Music (For A Film).” Transparent as ever, Wallice humbly admitted to her audience that she had just decided very late the night prior to sing this rendition to give her band a much deserved intermission.
Playing old songs as well as new, unreleased ones, her aim toward indie rock was clear, and it was fascinating to see her evolve so much since the Moriondo concert, just two months prior. Crawling up on the side of the stage in a light up cowboy hat, her producer Marinelli even joined her on stage at the end of her set, performing with her the song “Hey Michael” for the adoring crowd. Wallice even tossed her own cowboy hat into the audience to close the show.
The Moroccan Lounge cleared slowly when she was done while fans wished for more, but the singer waited outside for pictures and autographs long after the show had ended.
Wallice’s energy is humble, genuine and uniquely herself. She is a beautifully adorable performer, and no one is quite like her. Her expeditious claim to fame mixed with her attitude toward this success is extremely telling of what is to come in her career; in fact, the New York Times wrote a feature in late December that described her as an up and coming artist.
With an angelic voice and surreal music video direction, there is not a single aspect of the singer that is sub par. Wallice’s sense of style and allure as a whole is to be noted, and it can be expected that she is just getting started with her promising career.
Lillian Dunn is an Entertainment Intern for the winter 2022 quarter. She can be reached at lbdunn@uci.edu.
